12th Sunday After Pentecost CALL TO WORSHIP from Psalm 67 and Isaiah 56:7 P: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. C: May God be merciful to us and bless us; may the light of God’s face shine upon us. May God give us blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe. P: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples, says the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS based on today’s readings P: God declares: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed. Confident in our deliverance, let us confess our sins before God and one another. Silence is kept for reflection P: Holy God, C: we confess we have not been obedient to your will for us. We have sought justice for ourselves but neglected justice for others. We have insisted on our rights but have not lived rightly in our relationships. We have desired mercy for our sins, but we have not offered mercy to those who have sinned against us. By the power of your Holy Spirit free us from the prison of our disobedience. Help us to love as you have loved us that our lives may testify to your abounding grace though Jesus Christ. Amen. P: Hear the Good News: the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Receive the gift of forgiveness and share that gift with others, + in the name of Jesus Christ. C: Amen. HYMN “Earth and All Stars” (A song for the start of school) PRAYER OF THE DAY P: Almighty God, whose compassion embraces everyone, gather the outcast and the lost, heal the wounds of fear and distrust, and make us a community of reconciliation that we may embody your merciful love and rejoice in your astounding grace in Jesus Christ. C: Amen. READING Gospel: Matthew 15:10-20 10[Jesus] called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil reasoning, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” SERMON Rev. Lori E.L. Kitzing HYMN “All Are Welcome” PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION P: Confident that God receives our joys and concerns, let us offer our prayers for the church, those in need, and all of creation. P: O God, your Spirit gathers the church. Shepherd those who are newly baptized and newly ordained in the proclamation of the gospel. Breathe life into ecumenical and inter-religious endeavors, and support missionaries throughout the globe. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You created the earth and all its inhabitants and declared it good. We pray for those working to clean polluted skies, seas, and soil. Bless the labor of our farmers as they steward the earth. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: You provide for those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. Help us to better embrace people who have been rejected because of mental illness or differences. We pray that you would help guide us in healing trauma caused by racism or prejudice. Shield any who are persecuted, console the dying, and heal the sick (especially Julie, Karla, Stephanie, Cammie, Nancy, Beverly, Micala, Murlene, Donald, Dale, and Jim). Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: We give you thanks for those who now rest from their labors. Motivate us by their lives of dedication to the gospel, until that day when we join with them in our eternal home. Hear us, O God. C: Your mercy is great. P: Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, in the name of the one who reconciled all creation to himself, Jesus Christ our Savior. C: Amen. OFFERING PRAYER Financial gifts may be sent to the church. P: Gracious Lord, you have given us more mercy and more blessings than we deserve. Receive the gift of our offering as a token of our gratitude to you, that your mercy may be multiplied and your blessings abound to embrace all those in need. C: Amen. LORD’S PRAYER Spoken in Urdu BENEDICTION P: The God who forgives, reconciles, heals, and blesses + is with you today and forevermore. C: Amen. HYMN “Rise, Shine You People!” LYRICS 1 Rise, shine, you people! Christ the Lord has entered our human story; God in him is centered. He comes to us, by death and sin surrounded, with grace unbounded. 2 See how he sends the pow’rs of evil reeling; he brings us freedom, light and life and healing. All men and women, who by guilt are driven, now are forgiven. 3 Come, celebrate; your banners high unfurling, your songs and prayers against the darkness hurling. To all the world go out and tell the story of Jesus’ glory. 4 Tell how the Father sent his Son to save us. Tell of the Son, who life and freedom gave us. Tell how the Spirit calls from ev’ry nation his new creation. CHARGE P: Go And...Share Your Story! So that you can better love and serve God and your neighbor. C: Thanks be to God. Printed by permission oneliscense.net A-717495
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AuthorRev. Lori E.L. Kitzing Archives
April 2024
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